Distribution and abundance of the herringbone leaf-miner, Ophiomyia camarae (Diptera: Agromyzidae) on Lantana camara (Verbenaceae) in selected areas of Swaziland

Abstract

The distribution and abundance of Ophiomyia camarae was determined in three ecological regions, i.e., highveld, middleveld, and lowveld of Swaziland. Within each region, sites were selected based on Lantana camara L. density, with 10 plants randomly chosen per sampling site. Ten leaves from each shrub were collected and assessed for any damage caused by the herringbone leaf-miner. Relative abundance, based on the number of shrubs damaged by the herringbone leaf-miner, was scored per site. Three lantana varieties were observed during the sampling period. There were significant differences in mean leaf damage due to leaf-miner activity between varieties (P=0.0162), with 46±4.89% leaves of the pale pink variety damaged compared to 23±5.56 and 21±3.53% leaves of the orange and pink varieties, respectively. While there were no restrictions in terms of distribution, the highest levels of O. camarae populations were observed in the middleveld (P=0.0012), suggesting that this region had the most suitable environmental conditions for this natural enemy. Overall, the abundance was significantly different between regions (P=0.006) and months (P=0.000), with April scoring the highest population levels. Based on our observations, the variation in environmental conditions has an influence on the activity of O. camarae, with the middleveld having the most suitable conditions